Tachyons are a bit, well – tacky. These hypothetical particles would travel faster than light. They’ve never been detected, but scientists keep on studying them. The particles have implications for everything from the age of the universe to time travel.

Tachyons were proposed many decades ago. They were named from a Greek word that means “quick” or “swift.” Many studies have dismissed them entirely. One objection is that faster-than-light particles could go back in time – a violation of the laws of physics.

Other studies treat tachyons as something you can think about mathematically, but not in reality. But still others say the particles could be real. One recent study, for example, says tachyons must have been involved in the creation of matter in the early universe.

Another study says tachyons could make up “dark matter” – matter that produces no detectable energy, but exerts a gravitational pull on the visible matter around it. Decades of searches for dark matter have come up empty. The study also says that tachyon dark matter would eliminate the need for dark energy, which is causing the universe to accelerate faster as it ages. And that would change the age of the universe – to about eight billion years, not 13.8 billion, as generally accepted.

More studies are needed to determine whether any of these ideas are correct – allowing these “tacky” particles to stick around at least a while longer.

Script by Damond Benningfield